New UK East-West Council to meet for first time later

The first meeting of the new UK East-West Council will take place in London later on Tuesday.

Stormont’s first and deputy first ministers will attend the summit, as well as ministers from the government.

Its purpose is to look at ways of deepening links between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Another body, Intertrade UK, was also formed as part of the deal to promote two-way trade between Northern Ireland and GB.

The government said the council will have four initial missions including:

Ministers from the Stormont Executive will take part alongside politicians from the UK government.

The first and deputy first ministers are expected to attend with Economy Minister Conor Murphy and Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove will represent the government along with Chris Heaton-Harris and Steve Baker from the Northern Ireland Office.

Speaking ahead of the first meeting, Mr Gove said he was pleased to be able to hold the inaugural meeting of the council and said the East-West Council was an important part of the agreement that helped restore devolution.

He added: “The government is committed to working with our partners in the Northern Ireland Executive and across the UK to address shared challenges and opportunities including with an East-West dimension.”

Ahead of the council, the DUP Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she wanted to see “much more sharing of knowledge”, not just between Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales but across English regions as well.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill, of Sinn Féin, said she was up for participating in “all forums to get the best” for people in Northern Ireland.

This council’s remit looks at “enhancing connections” between the UK nations on areas such as trade, education and culture.

There are other bodies already established under the Good Friday Agreement that also deal with east-west links.

The British-Irish Council (BIC) is made up of representatives from the UK and Irish governments, the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the governments of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

Its stated aim is to “promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relations among the peoples of these islands”.

Mr Sunak is not expected to take part in Tuesday’s UK East-West Council meeting.

The North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) is another body, but it only involves ministers from Dublin and Stormont on “matters of mutual interest”.

It last met in July 2021 in plenary form and was then suspended when power-sharing at Stormont collapsed in 2022.

However, it is due to reconvene on 8 April in Armagh and will likely see the new taoiseach (Irish PM) taking part alongside Stormont’s first and deputy first ministers.